Flight 370
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Summary: March 8, 2014: Malaysian Airlines flight 370 to Beijing disappears. On board is a Japanese scientist and an invention that could save the world, or destroy it. Dirk Pitt and Numa join forces with the Japanese Ministry of Science searching for the doomed aircraft, while sinister forces follow their every move.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 _ **Kalimantan, Indonesia – 1944**_

 **Isamu** Imahara felt out of place on the steamy island of Kalimantan, Indonesia. He knew he was fortunate not to be stationed in a combat area, but the position of military ruler of the island wasn't one he relished performing. Imahara had been in the army for several years now, but not of his own choice. His family could trace their roots back to the aristocracy and the Samurai, and his father and grandfathers had held high ranking positions in the military. The family tradition was not something that he could easily turn away from, in fact, it was his father's influence that had gotten him his commission, not his own actions or talents.

What Imahara really wanted to do with his life, was to study science and engineering. He carried tools of that trade around with him where ever he went, taking every opportunity to satisfy his craving for experimenting, invention, and scientific studies. Isamu had a modest chemistry setup, and both a telescope and microscope with optics made by the great Alvin Clark. He also had a shelf full of reference books covering many scientific disciplines. Not exactly what a military leader would carry into the field in his foot locker, but his rank did come with its privileges.

The local inhabitants of the island didn't take very kindly to the invasion of their native soil by the Japanese army, but they were powerless to stop them. An airstrip had paved over some of their most prized farmland, warships were now anchored in the harbor where they had caught the best fish, and the homes of many upper class citizens were now being used by the military as bases of operation, and quarters for their high ranking officers. Isamu felt guilty for this, even though none of this had been done under his command. He had been dropped into his position of power after the army had already moved in, and the officer he replaced had been recalled and given a combat position on the front lines.

Imahara did try to mend fences with the locals by appointing several of the native inhabitants to important positions under himself. He felt that it might be better if one of their own handed down the edicts from above, as that might soften the impact. Isamu treated his majordomos with respect and friendship, with the result that he soon had help from the locals to pursue his true ambitions of scientific pursuits.

While he was out exploring the countryside deep inland on a quest to study the local flora, Imahara noticed that his compass would sometimes go crazy, either pointing far from magnetic north, or spin wildly. The phenomenon seemed to be centered near a low spot in a valley surrounded by dense vegetation. When Imahara inquired about the area he was told that about a hundred years ago there had been a bright streak of light across the sky, and that a glowing object had crashed into the valley in a huge fireball. Isamu realized at once that there must be a meteorite buried in the valley, probably one with a high iron concentration with magnetic properties similar to magnetite or loadstone. He decided to return later equipped with excavating equipment, and an electronic mine locater to discover exactly what lay buried there. Before he could organize his expedition, the weather turned nasty and the island was pounded by a tremendous thunder storm. Bolts of lighting, hail and a deluge of rain scoured the landscape for many days. Several large lightning crashes landed in the valley where his suspected meteorite lay buried.

 **A** week later, after the weather had cleared, Isamu Imahara and several of the locals whom he had befriended made their way through the dense vegetation to look for the crater left by the visitor from space over a century ago. As they approached the site, Imahara's mine detector started to go crazy, emitting loud high pitched squeals, its meters jumping back and forth violently. The compasses carried by the expeditioneers were rendered useless as they spun around at high speed like electric motors. As they got closer to the crater these effects only increased in intensity. The locals started getting nervous, fearing that the gods were about to smite them for entering cursed ground. Imahara selected what he thought was the likely spot, and grabbing a pick, started to dig into the earth. Two of his followers each picked up shovels and also began to excavate. It took them several hours to reach the level where the deposits left by the meteorite were buried. The sun was getting low in the sky, and they had only enough time to unearth about a pound of mineral before they would have to return back to civilization, not wanting to travel back in the dark.

Imahara spent several months studying the mineral that he had discovered, it was like no magnetite he had ever seen before. He could draw sparks from his powered down radio set when the material was brought close to it, and unless he kept it locked in a thick iron safe, the radio would not operate with the jar of mineral in the same room. It appeared that the stuff was either emitting electromagnetic waves, or was radioactive. He tried exposing photographic plates with the material, but no fogging was produced, so this clearly wasn't anything like radium. He was totally baffled by this strange phenomenon.

Meanwhile, the war wasn't going well for Japan. Macarthur was rampaging though the Pacific routing the Japanese forces as he went. Imahara received orders from the high command to return back to Japan, along with most of his forces. A skeleton force would be left behind to slow down the advance of the enemy, and his troops were now needed to protect the home land from the expected invasion. Isamu packed up his belongings, and carefully stowed the mineral specimens for further study back home. Back in Japan, he found himself being moved about as preparations for the defense of the island homeland from the allies was being hurried up. In early August of 1945, his personal scientific equipment, his notebooks, and the mineral samples were stored in a warehouse in Nagasaki, while Imahara himself was transferred back to Tokyo.

* * *

 _ **Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 8, 2014**_

 **Hiroto** Imahara drove the Jeep at a wild breakneck speed over the narrow back roads from the Indonesian side of the island toward Kuala Lumpur. The murder of Basir convinced him that the Black Hand was after him, and that they would stop at nothing to obtain the converter device prototype, and the mineral that made it possible. He kept looking over his shoulder expecting to see the black SUV that had been trailing him all over Kalimantan for the past few weeks. If only he had made the connection earlier, Basir might still be alive and their prototype would now be safely in Japan at the Science Ministry.

Hiroto thought back at the irony of it all, how an assignment by Professor Ochanomizu to survey the area surrounding 'ground zero' in Nagasaki for residual contamination, some seventy years after the attack that had ended the second world war, had led him to the discovery. During the survey he'd come across the long forgotten subbasement of a warehouse where he found his grandfather's effects that had been buried there since the end of the war. He then discovered the pages of the diary that mentioned the strange mineral the senior Imahara had found during the second world war. Hiroto also unearthed the samples of the strange mineral, and a crude device that Isamu had constructed to test a theory. From that day on Hiroto devoted himself to continuing the research that his grandfather had had started.

His early experiments with the mineral had been promising, the only problem was that the sample was too small. He needed enough to reach a "critical mass" to produce a "rotating dipole effect" that would be self sustaining. He knew that if he succeeded, he could produce a power converter that would be 100% efficient, a device that could produce electrical power from nothing by taping into the 'blanes' that made up the subatomic substance of the universe itself! He knew that device would be an almost limitless source of clean energy, but also that it could also be turned into the most hideous weapon that mankind had ever created.

It was while he was searching for the site where his grandfather had made the first discovery that he had met Basir. The strange little man was an inventor in his own right, building his own little physics laboratory in the basement of the high school where he taught science. Basir was scouting in the same valley, looking for insect and plant samples for his classroom lectures when the two met. Hiroto and Basir worked together to find the location of the meteorite, and to recover over 800 kilos of the mineral. Working together in Basir's laboratory, they had constructed a prototype of the converter, and were able to test it. Unbeknown to them however, they were being watched by sinister forces.

 **Basir** had encountered the Black Hand once before, though he kept the encounter secret from Hiroto. An offshoot of the Kempeitai and the Black Dragons, the underworld organization trafficked in drugs, slaves, and technology. His laboratory had been broken into once before, though at the time it had contained nothing of any value, and nothing had been taken by the thieves. The police identified the break in as the work of the mysterious political syndicate, and advised Basir to be careful. The science teacher prudently moved his laboratory from his home to the school basement, and he wasn't bothered again, until that fatal day.

A week after their break through, Hiroto showed up at the laboratory to find Basir's bloody body, and the place in shambles. The prototype wasn't there as Hiroto had already taken it, and several hundred kilos of the mineral back to his hotel to pack for shipment back to Japan. He rushed back there and quickly stuffed his four suitcases with the scientific cargo, making it out of the building just as a black SUV rounded the corner. How he had given them the slip, he didn't know, but it was obvious that getting out of Indonesia was going to be tricky. Hiroto prayed that he could make it across the border to Malaysia, and that he might be able to slip out of the country. He kept off the main roads, taking the less traveled ones, hoping to avoid being spotted. It seemed to have worked.

Arriving at the airport, his heart fell to see that the next available direct flight to Japan was many hours away. Hiroto feared for his life, and knew he had to leave the island as quickly as possible. He scanned the boards looking for the first available flight toward home. The next flight out would be Malaysian Airlines flight 370 to Beijing. From there he could catch a connecting flight to Tokyo, it would have to do. Having only minutes to catch the flight, he bribed the one of the airport workers to sneak his overweight luggage onto the plane at the last minute before the flight. The aircraft loading operator was all too happy to accept Hiroto's gratuity and hastily loaded the last minute luggage into the aircraft's cargo bay.

As the aircraft took off, Hiroto breathed a sigh of relief. He'd escaped from the Black Hand mob, and soon the prototype converter that Basir had given his life to help build would be back at the Science Ministry where it could be perfected. Then the discovery would be in safe hands, and Japan would be free from dependence on oil and nuclear energy forever.

The aircraft banked sharply during the takeoff roll out to climb to cruising altitude. The hastily packed luggage in the cargo hold shifted and three heavy suitcases that were not strapped down well bounced around and landed in a heap against a conduit panel that housed the aircraft's fly by wire electronics. Twenty minutes later flight 370 disappeared from the air traffic control displays.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **NUMA Sea Base, San Diego CA. – April 1, 2014**

 **Dirk** Pitt Sr. missed being at sea. Ever since taking over the position as NUMA's director he was spending most of his time behind a desk in downtown Washington D.C. office building, instead of being out in the field as the agency's director of special projects. That position was now filled by his son, Dirk Pitt Jr., with help from his daughter Summer Pitt. The Senior Pitt still did get out in the field every chance he got, but mostly on inspection duty rather than actual dirty work. When NUMA's first 'new from the keel up' ship was ready for launching, Dirk jumped at the chance to be on board to help out with her sea trials. They wouldn't be doing any official work, so it was the perfect chance for NUMA's veterans to smell the salt air again.

Most of NUMA's ships had been hand me downs from the Navy or Coast Guard. They had been totally refitted for their new task of marine science, but there were still compromises. The Cousteau had been designed for NUMA, by NUMA on a clean sheet of paper. She had, of course, been named for the famous late French ocean explorer and marine researcher. Vice President Sandecker, NUMA's former director had helped push for the funding to build the new ship. The V.P. would have liked to be present for the ship's departure, but a last minute crisis in Washington was keeping him away.

 **Al** Giordino and Joe Zavala had been aboard the Cousteau for several weeks now. Al had been instrumental in the design of the ship, working for months at the drafting table. The design work had kept him stuck indoors for far too long, when he'd rather have been trying out his inventions out at sea. With the Cousteau now almost ready for launching he was looking forward to enjoying the fruits of his design labor. At the moment, Joe Zavala was assisting Al in going though a long punch list of items that had to be taken care of before the ship would leave for her trial run. Dirk wasn't sure who was the more talented marine engineer Joe or Al, but he was sure that the two of them working together would insure that the Cousteau's maiden voyage would be a successful one.

 **Kurt** Austin had been planning on taking some vacation time in Hawaii to do some surfing. Seeing that the Cousteau's planned route included a stopover at Perl Harbor he decided to postpone the start of his vacation and be part of the shakeout crew. While Joe Zavala wasn't much in to surfing, he had hinted that he'd like to do some fishing, and had also planed on taking some R &R once they reached Perl.

 **Pitt** parked his vintage Dusenberg J Phaeton in the covered parking garage next to the NUMA slip, and walked toward the dock. The smell of the salt air and the cries of the gulls flying overhead were enough to put him in a relaxed mood. He picked up his pace and hurried along till he reached the gangplank leading up to the Cousteau's main deck. Once on board he looked out into the harbor. Anchored just out of the sea lanes was an old rusty tramp steamer. Pitt laughed to himself, he knew all about that old rust bucket out there. The Oregon might have looked like a ship ready for the scrapyard, but it was actually a high tech vessel armed to the teeth and loaded for bear, that could outrun anything afloat. Her rust covered exterior was a clever disguise, under that artfully done paint job the ship was as solidly built as the navy's best war ships. The Oregon was run by a private army of mercenaries known as 'The Corporation', headed by an old friend named Juan Cabrillo. Pitt directed his gaze toward the ship's bridge and saluted, he was glad that Cabrillo would be on hand for the Cousteau's send off.

Captain Decker and Al Giordino were already on the bridge when Pitt entered. "How's she doing?" Pitt asked.

"Everything looks shipshape" the captain answered. "However, Mr. Giordino has this nasty habit of countermanding my orders."

"That's because your knowledge of this ship's system's seems to be a bit lacking" Al said. "I can't stand to see the last year and a half of my work be damaged by a green captain."

"GREEN!" Decker fumed turning toward Dirk. "He damn well knows I'm one of NUMA's most experienced sea captains!"

Dirk got between the two men, and put a hand on each of their shoulders.  
"Will you two stop fighting and work together?" Pitt laughed. "Look Captain Decker, both Al and myself have the greatest respect for your seamanship. It's just that this ship is like a child to Al, it's his masterpiece of marine design. Just humor him a bit, please. I'm sure you've read all of the technical manuals on this vessel?"

"Of course I have!" Decker insisted, taking a deep breath. "Very well, I see your point. Just remind your friend that this ship has only one captain. I'll put up with his micromanagement only as long as we are in coastal waters. Once we get to sea, this is MY ship!"

"Well, Al?" Pitt asked.

"Hatchet buried." Al conceded.

 **Pitt** walked out of the bridge and headed below deck to check out the laboratories. There he met the Trouts who were busy inventorying the equipment. Paul Trout was still getting used to the fact that the ceiling height in the Cousteau's corridors were just a bit greater than the rest of the ships in NUMA's fleet. At nearly seven feet tall, Paul had gotten used to ducking his head at critical junctions walking though the passageways of the lower decks on ship. Al Giordino must have kept Paul Trout in mind when he laid out the specifications for the Cousteau, there wasn't any area on the ship with less than 6' 10" of headroom.

"How's the inspection coming along?" the head of NUMA asked.

"Nothing seems to be missing so far," Gamay replied. Paul nodded, "We're just starting to power things up and test the equipment. I can't do a proper test of the sonar in port, too much noise from local ship traffic. However the all of the basic diagnostic tests indicate no issues."

"Very good." Pitt said. "Carry on."

 **Dirk** entered the ship's control room. Here, all of the scientific and communications equipment not associated with the direct navigational controls were located. This was the ship's mission HQ, and computer center. A direct two way video console with the bridge was available to keep the captain in the link where required. There he found Hiram Yeager, NUMA's computer expert and Rudi Gunn, NUMA's second in command, waiting for him.

"Welcome aboard, Dirk!" Rudi said.

"I didn't expect to see you two coming along for the Cousteau's maiden voyage," Dirk said.

"We're not," Rudi replied. "I'm needed back in D.C. to run things while you're enjoying yourself out on the open seas. I'm here in Sandecker's place, he's expecting me to report back on how well the final inspection goes."

Yeager turned 180 degrees on his swivel chair and smiled at Dirk.  
"I still have some more work to do here before I give my approval that the ship's computers and other electronics are ready," the computer genius said, "I haven't completed running all of the diagnostics yet. The GPS and navigational equipment checks out, but I still have to align the gyroscopic stabilizers. Then the Satellite communication gear also needs to be verified. Sandecker gave me the authorization to tie into the military communication links, and I want to verify that they are on line as well."

"Sound's like you've been busy." Pitt laughed.

"Na, Einstein's been doing all the dirty work." Yeager laughed.

"Einstein?" Pitt questioned.

"My latest computer daemon." Yeager replied, typing a few commands on the keyboard. A graphic appeared on the large screen computer monitor in the image of a long haired scientist who spoke in a thick German accent, sounding somewhat like Disney's Ludwig Van Drake character.

"What can I do for you, gentleman?" he asked.

"Just introducing you to the boss." Yeager explained.

"Hello, Mr. Pitt." Albert replied. "If you have any problems requiring my assistance do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, and glad to meet you." Pitt answered.

"Albert, would you please schedule the rest of the systems diagnostics to run." Yeager asked.

"At once." The daemon replied as the image of the scientist faded away.

Pitt turned to the door. "I need to finish my inspections and find my cabin." he explained.

"Let me show you around," Rudi replied. "I don't want to get in Yeager's way. The sooner he is happy, the sooner you can get out of port. By the way, how goes your inspection so far?"

"I'm just concerned about how Al Giordino and Captain Decker are getting along." Pitt sighed. "There is a small battle of egos up on the bridge at the moment."

"Don't worry, the two of them are too professional to let their personalities clash for very long." Rudi laughed. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if what you ran into on the bridge was staged for your benefit."

"I hadn't thought of that." Pitt laughed. "It's just the kind of thing that Al would have done."

 **Their** next stop was at the ship's mess hall. The ship's Chef had just finished stowing the last of his gear and was in the process of filling a coffee urn with water.

"I see I'm a bit early for the Java." Pitt moaned.

"Come back in about twenty minutes and I'll have it ready for you." Chef Morrison told him. "though I get you some tea right away if you'd like."

"Yes, thank you." Pitt answered "I'd like that."

"Make it two." Rudi added.

Morrison siphoned off some hot water from the holding tank and put some into two china mugs. He then dropped a teabag into each of them.

"Here you go" he said, handing one cup each to Rudi and Pitt.

Pitt added some sugar and stirred the liquid, then brought the cup to his lips and sipped.

"Just what I needed!" he smiled. Rudi silently drained his cup.

"Hi dad!" Pitt turned around to see Dirk Jr. and his sister Summer standing behind him.

"When did you two get on board?" Dirk Sr. asked.

"We've been on board for a few hours now." Summer replied. Dirk and I have been down below by the moon pool checking out the scuba gear, and the drone subs. Everything we've ordered is on board and in good shape."

"Well it seems that most of the NUMA crew is satisfied with the ship's provisioning." Pitt Sr. said. "I hope we can get underway soon. Murphy's law dictates that it won't be long before Sandecker finds something important for us to investigate, and then the Cousteau will have to start earning her keep.

 **With** Rudi's help Dirk found his assigned state room. He pushed the door to his cabin open to find his duffel bag had already been brought into his room and was lying on his bunk. Pitt unzipped the bag and began to unpack. His years in the Air Force had taught him how to cram a duffel bag full of clothing neatly, but for this trip his wife Loren lent a woman's touch to his luggage. The Congresswoman was busy in D.C. and had wished Pitt good byes and a safe trip via phone.

Pitt carefully filled the drawers of the cabin's dresser with his neatly folded shirts and trousers. He had decided to go business casual on this trip, though he did bring one formal suit, just in case the occasion required it. He knew that the ship had a top notch laundry facility on board, so he wasn't too worried about under packing. As he opened his closet, he noticed that someone, probably Al, had provided him with several sets of official NUMA uniforms in his size, pressed and hanging in the closet. Pitt examined one of the uniform shirts, and smiled when he noticed the Cousteau's emblem embroidered on the lapels. This detail was probably Rudi's idea.

 **Several** hours later Hiram Yeager and Rudi Gunn headed off the ship. Yeager had finished his final inspections and had declared that the ship's systems were ready for their departure. Pitt was on deck as they departed. "You guys are missing all the fun," he said.

"Somebody has to man the office while you're gone, Dirk," Rudi replied. "At least I was able to get away to send you guys off."

"And you might need me in the main computer center to solve a problem for you," Hiram pointed out.

"I hope not," Pitt replied, "For once I'd like a shakedown cruise of a new ship go perfectly."

Pitt watched as NUMA's second in command and the head computer engineer drove away in an aquamarine colored SUV with NUMA's logo on the doors, before heading back to his cabin.

Glancing at his watch, Dirk noticed that it was nearly dinner time. The Cousteau, like most military ships ran on a rigid schedule. With her small science crew meal time would involve only a single seating, though the kitchen area remained open 24/7 to fit the workaholic lifestyle of the geeks on board. As he made his way to the mess hall, Pitt could feel the vibration of the ships main engines under his feet. He glanced out a port hole and saw the dock slowly drifting away. The Cousteau was finally under way, starting her maiden voyage.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Eastern Pacific Ocean, Due West of San Diego CA., April 2, 2014**

 **Calm** seas and clear skies greeted the crew of the Cousteau as morning dawned. NUMA's director started his day by jogging around the deck as part of his morning exercise ritual. The Cousteau had a clear jogging path about her main deck, though the pathway was actually intended for the movement of research equipment. As he made his way around the ship, Pitt saluted the Captain who was up in the bridge keeping his eyes on the electronic indicators. Except in the case of an emergency, there was little for Captain Decker to do for the ship could run itself under computer control from the main control room several decks below. Still, the ship needed a pilot and a set of eyes and the quick thinking of a human being in the event that something unexpected happened, and Decker was certainly the man for that job. For the moment the ship was under his command though once he'd entered the course that had been provided by Pitt into the ships computer there was little more he needed to do. Unless there was any reason to deviate from their path, Decker would only have to watch out for other traffic on the high seas.

Pitt jogged by Dirk Jr. and Summer who were assisting the Trouts who were preparing a sonar probe for deployment. Once beneath the surface, they would drag the electronic transducers behind them, and test out the ship's under water mapping equipment. It was with such instruments that the NUMA teams had discovered lost ships and airplanes, as well as mineral deposits and previously unknown surface bottom features. Dirk waved at his son and daughter as he jogged past.

On the opposite side of the ship, Al Giordino and Joe Zavala were inspecting the hoists which would be used for lowering the deep diving submersibles which allowed men to explore and work near the ocean floor. Joe had barely finished his latest submersible design and had it flown to the NUMA sea base in time to sail with the Cousteau. He still had several days work ahead of him to finish installing and testing the rest of the sub's systems, and hoped to have it ready to test sometime during the Cousteau's sea trials. Needless to say, Al Giordino was as excited as Joe was about making the first dive.

Kurt Austin decided to stay clear of his friend Joe while he was busy working on the submersible. Joe was his happiest when he had tools in his hands, and Kurt knew better than to offer his help. As an engineer, Austin would have made a good plumber. He waved to Dirk Pitt Sr. as NUMA's director passed him on the main deck.

 **The** first full day out was pleasant enough. Captain Decker had got the ship up to twenty five knots, not anywhere near her top speed, but he was breaking in the engines gradually. The Trouts had finished their checkout of all of the laboratory's electronic equipment, and had verified that the new sonar was operating as designed. Al Giordino and Joe Zavala managed to run though about half of the submersible's check list and were confident that Joe's craft would be up to the task of reaching the ocean bottom in most of the Pacific. Dirk Jr. and Summer worked on getting the dive gear checked out, everything from the usual SCUBA regulators and tanks, the under water maneuvering units, even the exotic JIM suits, which were actually 'wearable submarines', were all in working order.

By late evening the Cousteau was several hundred miles west of the US mainland, and the crew was enjoying their first real dinner meal in her galley, as the previous evenings meal had been cold sandwiches brought on board just prior to leaving the dock. Chef Morrison had slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon to prepare a feast fit for a king. He'd wanted the Cousteau's first real dinner seating to go off without a hitch. The ship's food lockers had been well stocked with fresh seafood, steaks, and vegetables. The pantries contained pasta, flour, yeast, and spices. His staff baked their own bread fresh, and cooked everything on propane gas stoves. Nothing had been reheated from frozen in microwaves. The wine list was all domestic, from California and New York State. NUMA was a patriotic agency, after all.

Several hours after the evening's meal, the Cousteau's crew gathered in the ships media room for an evenings entertainment. Hiram Yeager had dug up some old scifi movies on DVD and had loaded them into the ship's entertainment system. Yeager's selection for the evening's night at the movies was now playing to a crew eager to relax after a hard day of work. Normally, the Cousteau's media room was used as a large conference room, it had a large 150" projection screen at one end of the room's long dimension, and smaller computer monitors along each of the longer walls. At the other end of the room hung an electronic grease board upon which a speaker could draw on. The seating could be rearranged in various configurations, with and without a central table. At the moment the room was set up in a theater configuration.

After a presentation of Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", and Walt Disney's "20,000 Leagues under the Sea", Dirk Pitt Sr. decided to call it a night and returned to his cabin. Most of the crew followed his lead, though a few hard core insomniacs stayed for an encore of "Forbidden Planet" before retiring for the night.

* * *

 **Eastern Pacific Ocean, April 3, 2014**

 **Dirk Pitt** Sr. woke early and took his early morning jog around the deck. He showered and shaved, and then dressed for work as a seaman. His next stop was the galley for breakfast, where he found most of the ship's crew already seated. Pitt got himself some coffee, and a plate of scrambled eggs and steak. He sat down next to Al Giordino, who was already having his second cup of java.

"Good morning." Al greeted Dirk. "I take it you've already had your morning run around the ship."

"Yes, I did." Pitt said. "The sea seems a bit rougher than yesterday, I can feel the ship roll a bit."

"I noticed that too." Al replied. "I wonder if the Cousteau's stabilizers are out of adjustment?"

"Maybe." Pitt replied. "Still, she's handling very well. I'd estimate our speed right now at about thirty knots."

"I think closer to thirty five." Al corrected him. "We should make it into Perl ahead of schedule."

The ship's PA system suddenly came to life. " _Mr. Pitt, please pick up the intercom phone!"_ The operator in the radio shack repeated his message. Pitt walked over the the bulkhead where a wall phone hung. Strange that in this day and age where wired phones had mostly been replaced by cellular ones, vessels such as the Cousteau still had wired communication devices scattered about them.

Dirk picked up the instrument. "Pitt here, what's up."

"You're wanted in the control center." the operator answered. "You have an urgent video call."

"Very well," Dirk answered. "I'm on my way there now."

When Pitt arrived in the ships 'war room' he found Rudi Gunn waiting for him on the other end of the connection. Vice President Sandecker was also on a video link conference call, both his image and that of Rudi Gunn were displayed on the monitor in split screen. As Dirk walked in, Sandecker saw him over the web-cam.

"Hello Dirk." the Admiral began. "I'm sorry to interrupt your pleasure cruise, but it appears that Cousteau is going to have to start earning her keep a bit sooner than we expected. I hope she's up to the task."

"She's proved herself quite shipshape so far." Dirk answered, "though Al thinks her stabilizers may need some fine tuning. No one is getting seasick though."

"That's good news." Sandecker replied. "How soon can you make it into Perl?"

"Well if we crank her up to flank speed we could get there sometime early tomorrow" Rudi replied.

"Do it." Sandecker answered.

"What's going on, sir?" Pitt asked.

"I'm going to need to call on NUMA's expertise locating underwater shipwrecks on the QT." the Vice President explained. "Our assistance has been requested by the Japanese government, via their Washington embassy, and they want this kept quiet."

"The Japanese have lost a naval ship?" Pitt asked.

"No, it isn't that simple." Sandecker replied. "I assume you are aware of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370 last month. Several countries are expending their resources trying to locate any trace of the aircraft that vanished without a clue. It seems that the Japanese have been actively part of the search, but they have been keeping their involvement secret until now, though only our government is currently aware of this."

"Why would the Japanese be interested in finding the aircraft?" Rudi asked, "That is other than for humanitarian reasons. No Japanese citizens were on that flight."

"None that we are aware of, anyway." Sandecker replied. "The passenger manifest may have contained some errors or omissions. We'll both find out more when you get to Perl Harbor. The Japanese are sending several members of their navy, as well as a few scientists from their Science Ministry to Hawaii. They will join the crew of the Cousteau for this mission. I'll be in Perl when you arrive tomorrow and there'll be a briefing for you and your crew on board your ship."

"Very well, sir." Pitt replied. "I'll look forward to your boarding the Cousteau tomorrow."

"Tell the guys to use the rest of the day to make sure all of the special gear is working." Sandecker replied.

"Right." Pitt answered as the Vice President closed his video connection.

"Are you going to meet us at Perl, Rudi?" Pitt asked.

"No, for the time being Hiram and myself will remain here in D.C. to coordinate logistics as they come up. Keep me posted."

"Will do," Dirk replied as the video call ended.

 **Pitt** foundAlGiordino and Joe Zavala hiding inside the submersible that Zavala had designed. They were yelling readings back and forth, Giordino was probing with a Fluke Scopemeter, while Zavala was reading off of a check list.

"Is this thing ready for service yet?" Dirk asked.

Zavala's head popped up through the hatch. "We think so. Al thinks the secondary power bus has a small overload somewhere and we're hunting for that now. I think things are within specifications, and so far I haven't seen anything to prove me wrong."

"Well better to find out now than at several thousand feet down." Dirk told him.

"Exactly." Joe agreed. "Why are you asking?"

"We may need the services of your new machine rather quickly." Dirk answered. "We'll all find out more when we get to Perl Harbor."

Al pushed Joe aside and pushed his head and shoulders through the open hatchway.

"Don't tell me," he asked. "Sandecker called with some emergency."

"Yes, I just heard from the Admiral," Dirk replied. "At the moment, I don't know much. We've been requested to make flank speed for Hawaii."

"Well then, I guess I'd better make sure this little toy is ready." Al said as he ducked back into the submersible and continued probing with the meter. As Pitt started to walk away he could hear Al yelling at Joe, "There I think I found the problem!"

 **Pitt** made his way up to the bridge to consult with the captain. "New orders, we need to make for Perl at flank speed. Our services have been requested by the Vice President."

"That command has already been given," Decker replied. "Rudi called me on the satellite phone minutes ago. There is one thing bothering me though."

"Any problems with the ship?" Pitt asked.

"No, but somebodies been keeping an eye on use, look." Captain Decker pointed at the radar screen, and scratched his chin. "We've been followed by that ship almost ever since we've left port. She's been keeping up with us, even after we increased speed to flank."

"Any ID on our shadow?" Pitt asked.

"No, the interloper has been keeping radio silent, and that worries me," Decker replied.

"I'll get Hiram Yeager to see if he can make an ID on her," Pitt said. "Email him the radar scans so he can try to get a match that ship's profile to anything in the database."

* * *

 **Ministry of Science, Tokyo Japan**

 **Dr. Ochanomizu** went over his notes a final time. He'd entrusted his assistant, Yuko Kisaragi to do most of his packing for the trip. It had been almost a month since his last contact with Hiroto Imahara, and his apparent disappearance aboard the ill fated air flight. The Ministry had used up most of its options, and now the government had decided to seek outside help with the problem. Ochanomizu wasn't exactly against working with the United States NUMA team, he'd heard some many good things about the agency and its director, a Mr. Dirk Pitt Sr.

The professor re-read Imahara's last text message one more time, trying to pick out something he still thought he was missing.

" _Boarding my flight out of here in a few moments,_ _MAL 370 to Beijing with connections to Tokyo via Taiwan. Must be careful, certain I'm being watched. Thank god for Basir, may he rest in peace. The devils will never get their hands on it."_

Ochanomizu sighed, the young man had managed to convince him to get the Ministry's funding for his project based on his grandfather's notes. The professor recognized at once the true nature of the discovery, and he also saw the double edged sword of it. The thing could be the power source that could free the planet from the grip of fossil fuel driven climate change, or it could become the worst weapon ever imagined. It the Black Hand organization got hold of it, his worst fears would come true.

Atom entered the office carrying a large pile of luggage. "I thought you wanted to travel light, Hakase," he said.

"That was my intent, but I kept thinking of additional equipment that we might need," he said. "What about you, are you ready for our trip?"

"Hai!" the boy nodded. "All packed and ready."

"Well I hope I haven't forgotten anything," Ochanomizu replied. "Our flight leaves in a few hours."


	4. Chapter 4

**Perl Harbor, Hawaii, April 4, 2014**

 **The** Cousteau had been running at flank speed, briefly reaching 40 knots at one point. She'd made good time during the Pacific crossing, and they arrived at Perl a few hours ahead of time. Shortly after the breakfast hour the ship dropped anchor in the harbor. A launch motored out to meet the ship with several guests aboard. Captain Decker met the boarding party at the ships lower level entry and greeted his expected guests. The captain then escorted the party directly to the ships conference room, where coffee, tea, and pastries were waiting.

Dirk Pitt Sr. entered the conference room to discover that he was the last of the NUMA staff to walk in. The Vice President and a contingent of officials from Japan were already present. He recognized Captain Nagumo from photographs, and was familiar with the man. Nagumo had been the captain of the Japanese science vessel Kibo for several years, and was himself a marine scientist. Standing next to Vice President Sandecker was an elderly gentleman of a short stature. He was barely five feet tall, if that, and was mostly bald except for two patches of gray hair over his ears. His most prominent feature was his distinctively large nose. Pitt assumed him to be the head of the Japanese Science Ministry.

The remaining two visitors were a pair of boys. One of them appeared to be about 16 to 17 years old. He was almost six feet tall, and was dressed as if he belonged aboard a marine science vessel, wearing deck shoes, shorts, and a button up cotton shirt. His companion appeared to be no more than ten years in age. That youth wore bell bottom jeans that covered all but the tips of his red boots, Pitt could see the bulge of their collar tops under the legs of his trousers. He also wore a button up cotton shirt, and had a baseball cap on his head that was sitting at an angle, hiding a bulge of hair on one side of his head.

Sandecker looked up from his conversation with the scientist to notice that the head of NUMA was now present in the room.  
"Good morning, Dirk!" he spoke up banging on the table to get the crowd's attention.

"I'd like to introduce the representatives from Japan." The Vice President began. "Captain Nagumo, I'm sure many of you have heard of, his ship Kibo is as well equipped for marine research as any in NUMA's fleet."

The captain turned to face the ship's staff and spoke in almost perfect English. "My government and I are very grateful for NUMA's assistance."

Sandecker then introduced the other gentleman. "This is Dr. Ochanomizu, the head of the Japanese Science Ministry."

Pitt walked forward and greeted both men. He and Nagumo were familiar with each other's work and just shook hands. He had some questions for Ochanomizu however.

"Welcome aboard the Cousteau." Pitt said to both of them. Then turning to Ochanomizu he asked, "I'm a bit puzzled about the connection with your Science Ministry and the missing airliner."

"Yes, I can understand that." the doctor replied. "I'll be presenting a full briefing later, once we get all of our gear on board and are under way. For now, I can tell you that there was one Japanese engineer on board that flight, and that he had some valuable equipment with him."

"I suspected as much." Pitt replied. "By the way, who are the two lads you've brought along with you?"

Ochanomizu motioned for the boys, and they walked over.

"This is Reno," the doctor said putting his hand on the older boy's shoulder. "He's working at the Marine research arm of the Ministry, designing underwater exploration robots."

"I think our Al Giordino and Joe Zavala might be interested in talking with you, Reno." Pitt laughed.

"I've brought Gideon with us," Reno said. "He's a sentient robot dolphin I've designed and built."

"Yes, Al mentioned something about a Japanese robot being brought aboard through the moon pool." Pitt replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing a demonstration of his abilities."

Ochanomizu then motioned to the other boy. He hesitated a moment before speaking, "This is .. Adam. He's sort of my adopted son, and assistant."

"Hello, Mr. Pitt." Adam replied meekly.

"Welcome aboard." Pitt answered, patting Adam on the shoulder.

Reno moved closer to Pitt and Ochanomizu, "I'd like to go down to the moon pool and make sure Gideon is alright." He asked.

"Sure, I'll get Joe Zavala to escort you down there at once." Pitt wave to Joe who had just poured himself a cup of coffee.  
"Joe, would you please take this young man down to the moon pool so he can check on the robot he's had brought on board?" Pitt called across the room. Joe hustled over and left the room with Reno, and the two of them headed down to the ship's lower level.

"I'd like to get set up in my state room if you gentlemen don't mind," Ochanomizu said. "Once I get situated I can give your crew a full briefing."

"Why don't you take care of him Dirk?", Sandecker asked.

"Certainly Mr. Vice President," Pitt replied, "I'll be happy to escort the professor and his son to their state room."

"Thank you." Ochanomizu answered.

The professor and his younger charge left the room just as the ships engines started to gently rumble as the Cousteau left port.

The stateroom that had been reserved for their guests was located one deck down from the Cousteau's main operations level. Pitt removed a key card from his pocket and handed it to the professor. "Here is the key to you room. Normally we don't use the door locks, there is no need for that since we all trust each other and respect each other's privacy on board Numa ships." he explained. "However I realize that you may have brought some sensitive material on board with you, so it you feel the need to lock your door you have that option. There is a small safe in the room as well, you can reset the combination yourself."

"Thank you, Mr. Pitt," the professor replied. "We'll be less that fifteen minutes or so, I think I can find my way back to the conference room myself."

"Very well," Dirk replied. "I'll be waiting for your back upstairs."

* * *

 **About** fifteen minutes later, the Japanese scientist returned to the conference room alone, carrying an attache case. Pitt motioned for him to come up to the podium, and the room quieted down. Al Giordino brought up the large computer monitor at the front of the room, and had the NUMA logo displayed on the screen.

"I hope my English is up to the task," the Professor started. He handed Giordino a USB thumb drive, "there are some images I'd like to display on the monitor," he said.

Al handed the professor a remote control for the projector with a laser pointer, and the old man cleared his throat.

"Is this room secure?" he asked.

"Yes," Sandecker replied, "I've asked our computer expert, Hiram Yeager to do a remote security sweep of the entire ship, and there he reported that there are no bugs present."

"Good," Ochanomizu said, clearing his throat. "I'm sure that everyone in this room by now knows about the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370. Japan's involvement with the search for the airliner has been kept secret in the interest of our own national security, and also at the request of your own government. Only recently did we express our more pressing concerns to your government when the facts of the matter became known to us."

The professor then activated the display and showed the first of his prepared slides to the audience. He pointed to a map of the Pacific showing the position of Japanese forces as of 1944.

"During the Second World War, my country occupied many of the smaller island nations in the Pacific. One of those was Kalimantan Island in Indonesia. A military ruler that we placed there named Isamu Imahara, happened to be a scientist in civilian life, and the nature of his command allowed him to continue some of his pursuits in that vocation. He discovered a rare mineral that had been deposited on that island as the result of a meteorite impact centuries earlier. This mineral was unique in that it could generate some sort of magnetic field on the sub-atomic level, giving access to energies that lay dormant in the fabric of the universe since the big bang."

The second slide came into view, showing photographs of two men, who were obviously father and son.

"Isamu Imahara was recalled from his post shortly before the final weeks of the war. He brought his personal effects back with him, which included samples of the mineral and some scientific apparatus that he had hobbled together while on the island. These effects were locked up in the sub-basement of a warehouse storage facility in the city of Nagasaki.

After the war, Isamu's son Hiroto discovered his father's equipment, and the mineral samples which somehow survived the atomic attack. After studying his father's notes, he went back to Kalimantan and hooked up with a local scientist named Basir. The two of them managed to dig up a large quantity of the mineral and construct a prototype of a device that could either be the answer to the world's clean energy demands, or if it fell into the wrong hands, a doomsday weapon. The Ministry of Science was in contact with Hiroto during most of his sojourn on the island. His last contact with me was a text message shortly before the flight he was on took off from Malaysia. We believe that he had several hundred kilos of the mineral and his prototype device in his luggage."

* * *

 **Joe Zavala,** opened the hatchway leading into the moon pool located in the lower level of the Cousteau. Paul and Gamay Trout were already there, and they looked up as Zavala and Reno entered the section. "Ohayōgozaimasu," Gamay smiled as she bowed slightly towards the boy."

"Good morning, Trout-san," Reno replied."

"I know you'd like to make sure that your robot arrived safely," Paul said. "He's in the moon pool right now. I'm amazed at the technology. Gideon hasn't shut up since he introduced himself."

The robotic dolphin spotted Reno and whistled to him. "I was getting worried about you, Reno-San!" Gideon laughed.

"Are you OK, buddy?" Reno asked.

"I'm fine," Gideon replied. "I've been telling the Trouts all about our marine research projects, and they have been telling me all about Numa!"

"He is an amazing bit of technology," Gamay told Reno. "You've done a great job designing him."

"Indeed," Joe added. "I've seen the specifications the Japanese Science Ministry set us on him, and I'm jealous. I hope to see a demonstration of Gideon's abilities soon."

"We would be glad to accommodate you on that, Mr. Zavala," Reno replied. "For now could you get me an oscilloscope and a logic analyzer? I'd like to double check the alignment of some of Gideon's sensors."

"I'll take care of that," Paul volunteered. He disappeared into the adjacent laboratory, and soon returned carrying two pieces of Keysight test equipment.

Reno opened up an access panel just behind the robotic dolphin's dorsal fin and attached the test leads from the electronic instruments, and began to run a series of tests. A few minutes later he patted Gideon on the head. "You look perfect, pal," he said. "Ready for action."


End file.
